This past Sunday some coworkers and I had a small Thanksgiving potluck. The idea was to bring something from your ethnic heritage or something you grew up eating. I never had this as a child but during my visit to Europe last year I was introduced to Zwiebel Kuchen, which literally translated to “Onion Cake” (or Pie). It’s much like a quiche, however with emphasis less on the eggs.
What are some dishes from your heritage you’ve always wanted to try?
Hooray! It’s 0900 on the east coast and I already have 4 little pie crusts chilling patiently in the fridge.
They kind of look like little turkey burgers, don’t they?
This year I used a recipe from my giant Martha’s Cooking School book. If you’re tackling pie crusts today, remember to have a gentle hand when adding water. Martha recommended 7 tablespoons of water, followed by 2 additional tablespoons if needed, but added a full tablespoon at a time. After 7 tablespoons of ice water I would just start sprinkling to get the right consistency – adding more water by tablespoons seems a little dangerous to me!
Good luck, bakers and cooks! Hope you make beautiful progress today.
Click here for a timely Slate article with pumpkin tips!
But I actually wanted to share a few different things. The first is to ask a question.
I planned on making a Pear Plum Crisp, only to find that plums are not in season and there’s no way I’ll get them. Should I…
a) Substitute plums for cranberries (I’m worried they’ll be too tart)?
b) Substitute plums for dark pitted cherries (I was thinking they’ll have a similar not-to-sweet flavor to plums)?
c) Substitute plums for apple slices (but maybe we’re getting back to too tart here?
Please let me know what you think! The polls are open (well.. the comment field anway..).
Next I wanted to share a turkey tip. Ever heard of fried turkey? It’s most definitely a southern thing. I remember when we first moved south we heard of a guy that you could pay to fry your turkey on his lawn Thanksgiving morning, in time for dinner. I don’t know how much he made doing that, but it looked like a neat gig.
In any event, we were all about adopting some “southern ways” when we got here. Fried turkey was one of these, and we bought a turkey fryer. Here are photos from our first turkey fry, back in 2003
If you’re frying your turkey this year, please do it safely. This should never be done inside the house – do it in the yard in case the ridiculously hot oil starts to sputter. Wear large, heavy duty gloves and eye protection, and lower your turkey down slowly into the fryer. Never get closer to it then you need to. Do not allow children or dogs to be running around in close proximity. This is a giant pot of raging hot oil… don’t anger it!
Lastly, don’t scoff until you try it (I’m looking at you, Chef Edwin!). A fried turkey is a beautiful and delicious thing.
And now I’ll leave you with some scenes of Thanksgivings past. Don’t forget those little touches that make your table look lovely.
Try a new tablecloth or some gourds, flowers or cranberries as a centerpiece.
And give thanks!
Pot pies. That term does not stir up pleasant images in my head. Thick pies of lead is what I see. This image was not improved upon when I began my fast food career in high school. There is nothing behind those counters that makes your mouth water and pot pies are certainly no exception. I’ll leave at that, only saying that twenty pound tubs of butter are gross.
I don’t think we ever did the pot pie thing in my family and, to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had one. The weather here has been pretty nice for November but every now and then it dips down and I want something warm and hearty. Having nothing to really go on with regard to what a pot pie should be, I decided to just go with what I would want out of a pot pie: strong presence of veggies with something that doesn’t make me feel like I ate a brick.
Any pie crust (flaky, biscuit, etc)
3 pounds yellow onion; sliced in halves
5 ounces butternut squash; cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 ounces broccoli; cut into small floret pieces
1 carrot cut into 1/2 inch half slices
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup cream (heavy, light, your choice)
1/2 vegetable stock
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
Prepare a 9 inch pie pan with your crust and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400.
Saute the onion under medium high heat with 1 table spoon of oil until browned, stirring only occasionally; approximately 6 minutes. Move to a large mixing bowl and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Saute the squash and carrots in two teaspoons of oil for 3-4 minutes until browning and add to bowl of onions. Saute the broccoli, corn and peas in one tablespoon oil for two minutes then add the vegetables back to the pan. Toss to mix, and the cream, stock, marjoram and mix together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Fill the pie pan with your vegetables and either top with more crust or sprinkle with cheddar. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the crust (or vegetables) have become browned or crisp. Serve and enjoy.
Next. Week. Is. Thanksgiving! Things that make you go mmmmmm….
Here are some DinnerCakes highlights to consider trying for this year’s feast of awesomeness.
I think it’s been a little while since I shared any updates about Biscuit!
Well, he’s growing – he’s now a whopping 21 lbs and not showing any signs of slowing down.
He’s even starting to lose his “puppy face.” Aww..
My go-to cake for potlucks – a Williams-Sonoma recipe.
Click here for 45 awesome Thanksgiving pies from Martha!
Some pies that looks a little “off the beaten path” and interesting to me:
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Honey Walnut Pie
Pear-Cranberry Pie with Faux Lattice
Pumpkin Pie with Chipotle
Upside-Down Pecan Pie
Southern Black Bottom Pie
Triple-Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (my favorite from the new pies I tried last year!)
Growing up in the Bachetti household, we had certain culinary patterns. Friday night was pizza night (and TGIF! I loved Family Matters) and Monday night was spaghetti night. Not pasta night, spaghetti night. Every Monday we’d have your classic spaghetti pasta, sauce from a jar (Ragu) and garlic bread. Every Monday. And. I. Loved. It. I loooooooved spaghetti growing up (really, I love all carbs). That being said, there wasn’t a whole lot of variety in the dinner lifestyle. My father is not a big fan of variety and, well, kids hate “weird stuff” so my mother was rather constrained.
Spaghetti night died when we went off to college but I’m still in love with my carbs. Ragu, of course, does not sit on my shelves, but then there are so many other delicious sauces (don’t tell my dad). A friend and I made ravioli from scratch some time back using a recipe from Alton Brown (of course). It was delicious and used a very subtle, very simple sauce: butter and sage. I decided to give it a shot with this recipe.
If I had to do it again, I’d probably add more herbs to the vegetables for the roasting; something to add more “pop”. Maybe more basil, some parsley?
Cook your spaghetti as you normally would halfway through the process so it finishes around the same time everything else does. Preheat the oven to 450.
Put your onions and carrots in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil (enough to coat, but not “wet”) with a generous pinch or two of salt. Toss to coat and put, uncrowded, on roasting pans. Put the red bell pepper on its own roasting pan. Put the onion and red bell pepper in the oven. Toss the onion after ten minutes and remove after another five. Place the carrots in the oven and remove both them and the red bell peppers after five minutes (20 minutes total). If the red bell pepper’s skin is not charred enough, let roast longer. Otherwise, place in sealed bag and let sit. Once the red bell peppers are cool enough to handle, remove their skin and cut into 1/4 strips.
Melt the butter under medium heat (if it sizzles when it touches the pan, it’s too hot!) until it begins to brown, add your sage, garlic and basil and cook until the garlic is fragrant; approximately 30 seconds. Add your vegetables and pasta to the pan and toss to coat. Enjoy!
Two great friends came to stay with us last weekend from Chicagoland for a wedding. They decided to extend their weekend trip a bit and take advantage of the great camping opportunities on the Skyline Drive. With the camping in mind, I decided to make Trail Mix Cookies.
But I wanted to improve on my previous recipe. Those cookies had an awful lot going on… much like Everything Cookies. I wanted to tone it down a bit, so I replaced the peanut butter chips and white chocolate chips with additional semi-sweet chocolate chips. This allowed a little more enjoyment of the dried cranberries, almonds and golden raisins with a hint of chocolate.
Please do read my previous post for some information on agave syrup, what I used in place of sugar. It’s a more natural sweetener, especially good for diabetics. It also makes the cookies soft – you won’t get a crunch using agave.
What will throw you off the most about working with agave is that you’ll think you messed up when combining ingredients. Agave doesn’t blend very well at first with the butter and it seems to separate a lot… but when you add in the dry mixture you’ll see that everything is fine. Just have a little faith!
3/4 cup Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola with Omega-3
3/4 cup trail mix (a mix of dried cranberries, almonds and golden raisins. I also threw in some sunflower seeds for fun.)
1/2 cup oats (regular, not instant)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup shredded coconut
7 ounces (slightly more than 3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup agave syrup
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine granola, trail mix, oats, semi-sweet, white and peanut butter chips, and coconut. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine.
Beat room temperature butter until smooth. Add agave syrup, vanilla and egg. Beat well (don’t get discouraged when it looks clumpy and like it isn’t holding together… that’s normal!). Fold in flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Then fold in granola, oats, trail mix, chips and coconut.
Use a tablespoon to scoop large balls of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place balls approximately 2 inches apart. Bake approximately 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely (these cookies cooled surprisingly fast). Store in an air-tight container.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
